Puppeteer
by Izaren
Summary: In another universe, he could have been related to them. In another universe, he could also have been on the other side.
1. At first-

_He didn't mean to._

When his siblings obtained their own bodies, he couldn't help but woke to keep an eye on them in case they bit off more than they could chew... But he ended up getting his own body ways away from that Mage, and his siblings. Pain had enveloped him and for a brief moment, he had panicked- did the Wizard wanted to do something to his siblings and wanted him out of the way?!

But the pain stopped, and he had a body of his own. His link with his younger siblings, the twins, was still connected, but _weak_. A sign, he decided. He would not help them within their sight nor would he stop them. This game of their's.. Big brother would participate, for once.

Heaving his body up, he glanced at the polished silver of a wall, and saw a fair, lithe male, with eyes of amethyst and hair of platinum gold. Snorting at his.. Exotic look, he turned away and started looking for a way out. The twins must not notice that he was here, after all, or else the unknown game would be lost before he even started. However.. Does the mage knows that he is here? If he does, he had better keep his mouth shut, or he would be very annoyed. And his younger siblings knew just how destructive he could be.

An exit. Delightful! Now the game could really start- how long can he help his younger siblings, before they found out?

* * *

It's been a year or two since he was a spirit. He had been travelling around, learning as much as he could before he made a move. While travelling, he had heard rumours; rumours of a dark mage conquering towns and waging war on countries, rumours of a demon, with hair of blood, decimating enemies without fail, rumours of nature being turned against the armies of those towns and countries, and finally, rumours of a pair of twins that looked so young- but were deadly due to their powers- and looks.

He smiled when he heard that.

Even when they gained bodies, they continued playing their games- deadlier than before, but still the same, nevertheless. The Dark Mage the rumours speaked of must be the Mage that gave them bodies, he thought. He must be truly powerful, to give three spirits bodies all at once- and he pity the fools that stood against such power. Then again, they didn't know of that feat- after all.

As he approached the desert, he could not help but remember that his siblings have their names now. Flowery, but still names.

Lotus and Orchid..

Perhaps he could a name while he was in this sandy city.

* * *

Ariant was an eye-opener. Despite the harsh surroundings, the nobles of the city gave nary a care for the commoners- they partied daily and did whatever they wanted. Perhaps what entranced him was the way they could waste their livehood- water. But to them, it wasn't their lifes, _right_? It was the commoners' and they have the 'right' to do it.

Foolishness. All humans are equal in birth, no matter what others decreed. They are born the same, wailing and crying upon entry to the world.

Yet.. There was a certain noble, he remembered. One dressed in blue in the day, but at night, enveloped in white, said noble broke into his fellow nobility housing and stole their wealth- only to give it to the peasants. Subtle inquiries revealed that no one knew who it was- only rumours of a man in white- and the definite calling card of a man named Master Thief Raven.

A presumptuous name. Yet, he was intrigued. A noble, stealing from the rich, giving to the poor? Was it whimsy, or is it something more? These thoughts led him to watching the thief from the roofs again. Only, this time, he joined him on the roof.

"Good evening. "

He nodded in reply. Why was the thief here? Wasn't he.. A quick glance revealed that the 'thief' doing the deed was nothing more than a body double.

He spoke again, unfazed from the silence.

"Heard about you from my associates, you know. A young boy with blonde hair, clad in a tattered white cloak, asking around about me. "

Tilting his head to look at the thief, he wondered briefly on why was said thief talking to him, before checking for any guards. It wouldn't do for him to be caught by pesky idiots, after all.

Unperturbed by his continued silence, the noble-thief continued. "It takes quite a bit of talent to be able to sneak past me and watch, you know. And I know you detest the nobles. " _Like me_, went unsaid. "Be my apprentice?"

"Okay. "

He was only slightly irritated when his voice cracked from disuse. The ire increased when the thief laughed.

"How about a new name? One to symbolise your new life! You can be Phantom, okay? In honour of your sneaky-ness. Yeah, it sounds good. What do you think?"

Phantom... He nodded. He had a name now. And he would make himself worthy of the name.

* * *

Raven died.

It was swift, sudden- and he was totally unprepared for it. The doctors ruled it as a natural death. He died in his sleep, old age, they said. But he knew. Raven died from poisoning. Raven may be old, but he still had years ahead of him. His hair was only streaked with white, after all.

It wasn't a surprise, however. Raven had made many enemies, be it as his stint as a thief, or those that he had made in Areda's court. It was only a matter of time before someone got tired of his arrogant, confident attitude and killed him. It couldn't have came at a worse time, really. He had learned all that he could from Raven already- and Raven was retiring in a few months.

Indeed, this would allow him to get away from Ariant faster, in the guise of despair over the death of his 'father' who that had saved him from 'the streets' when 'young' and is now dead.**_Theatrics_**.

However.. Raven was his. **His** to play with, **his** to learn from, **his** to dispose of! And a foolish upstart ruined it all. Vengeance would be taken, yes. They thought he didn't know, the fools! The killer, the mastermind- he knew their names, their looks. Before he leaves, he needs to take care of them, he decided.

It was his first taste of someone close to him dying- and he hates the resulting pain in his chest and the stinging in his eyes. 

* * *

It had been on a whim when he obtained the Lumiere. It had been barely weeks after a heist that had soared beautifully in El Nath and he was supposed to be laying low in Orbis till the hunt died down. Irritated at the span of time it was taking, he had rashly headed down to custom a ship that would support his luxurious taste. After all, money wasn't a problem.

It turned out to be a work of art. However.. It was huge. Too huge for one person to maintain, even if that person wasn't human. But it was the best he could get. That mollified him, a bit. He could sail for awhile around, while looking for a pilot, a maid and maybe even a butler.

He had obtained Gaston, first, by returning to Ariant and asking him to return to service. Gaston had used to be under the employ of Raven, before Phantom had left after his death. Gaston had tried to make ends meet afterwards, but it could not be denied that time was not kind to the man. Nary a fuss was caused upon being asked- he had waited for him, Phantom! Loyalty like this should be rewarded.

Renault and Cristophe were hired while he was in Orbis, again, commissioning a second, smaller ship. He had seen the two looking for work among the other privately owned ships, only to be turned away due to their dressing. A brief glance at Gaston made up his mind- for Gaston was getting old- he did not want good help to die from over exhaustion. Quickly waving the two over, jobs were offered and taken swiftly- he was not the only one desperate, he thinks.

He had saved the maids while on business as a merchant in the town of Kerning. They had been scrapping for food in the bins, before getting caught by some thugs looking for either a quick lay or a quick buck. Cristophe hadn't cared- he had jumped in to push one of the thugs away, only to be pushed and kicked at due to his lack of height and strength. That was not allowed. No one can touch his toys- only him. That was why he had went in, after entrusting his goods to Gaston, swinging his cane around and casting spells without mercy. When the thugs were a pile of nothing on the floor, he had offered his proposal for them to work for him as cleaners- for he was in a giving mode that day and they were pretty dolls.

Christiane and Colette were bought over to his side when he had paid more than others for information. It did also helped that he paid for both uncertain and concrete information and look into things on his own. The last straw broke when he got tired of other customers asking for useless, paltry information that could potentially delayed his requests. He had immediately offered a contract where the two girls could work their magic in his ship without any second strings, as long as he gets information on everything. They accepted after a night of bartering- earlier than what Phantom would have thought.

He had obtained a full crew in a year- and in that year alone, he had bought two more ships- and gained a quasi-family, but mostly toys-esque, crew.


	2. In the End

**Notes: All my works are unbetaed, so if there's a mistake, or something, do feel free to tell me via review or PM.**

* * *

The Empress of Ereve was said to be beautiful, kind and a lovely sight despite her simplistic garments. Rumours of her were common in his line of work- she was a pretty gem, after all. And pretty gems, are caught and stolen by thieves.

It had been Colette who brought his attention to Ereve. Empress Aria had issued an indirect challenge to him, through the use of her said to be favourite jewel, the Skaia. Proclaimed to be under tight guard, not any ordinary thief would dare to steal it- for doing so would incur the whole world's ire for making their beloved empress unhappy.

A load of bull, if you asked Phantom.

Skaia? No more than a pretty bauble that the Empress preferred. No, the true jewel of Ereve was the Empress herself. Much more well known than her bauble, much more prettier than the Skaia which he had seen.

He paused. Prettier? Since when was that word in his vocabulary, he wondered. Sure, she was a sight to behold on the eyes, but..

She is an enemy. Of the Black Mage and by extension, of his siblings. By that itself, and that alone, he cannot pity her, nor fantasise about her. Letting a single of those thoughts slip through would be disastrous, for the risk of betraying his siblings momentarily is high.

He could not allow that to happen.

* * *

His first stolen jewel as Master Thief Phantom was an onyx as dark as void. It happened in a mansion in city that was filled with greed. Gold was found everywhere in abundance, and could change hands as quick as a rabbit's heart beat. Yet with a bit of tinsel gold, the Onyx was stolen from it's rich owners through their servants' betrayal.

His second jewel was a topaz as bright as the sun, in a town, filled with lust. Children were quick to be abandoned once birthed and body pleasures was a form of payment, that worked as well as gold. A quick misdirection, a quick flash of flesh- and the brothel mistress was unconscious, with the window opened and the topaz long gone.

His third jewel was an emerald as green as a lush forest. It was embedded into a statue of gold, to be unveiled on the opening day of a museum in Orbis. This was unlike his other jobs- not much sins, but Orbis was high in pride. Pompous fairies, thinking that they were above humans, just because of their longer lifespan. A calling card was sent, and guards were posted. Useless- through trickery and guile, the statue was stolen, with them none the wiser, only to be found on the roof of the museum days later, with it's jewels pried off.

His forth jewel was a pair of diamonds, one as white as light, the other as black as a raven's feather. Hidden in plain site, the monks of sloth from the monastery where he stole the jewels placed in the heart of their gate, in the mid of day, now had to use their own hands and legs to do their chores and survive.

His fifth jewel, was a spinel of carmine. Locked in a glass case, in the middle of a fountain in a village of average wealth, viewed enviously by all. However, the villagers dared not take the gem, for the punishment was too great, too dire, to even chance a minute of having the spinel in his or her hand. The next day, the town herald proclaimed, the thievery of the spinel, by the Master Thief Phantom, during the dead of the night.

His sixth jewel was the Skaia, as indigo as the evening skies. Obtained not through trickery nor guile, but as a form of a dead royal's deathwish. Given in hope and kindness- it bought nothing to Phantom, but a displaced feeling of wrath.

* * *

When he first met Freud, he first thought of him as a means of replacement (revenge) for Aria. The magician was always clad in robes of lush vibrant vermillion red, with his insignia of azure blue, striking on the white cloth it rests on. At second thoughts, Freud was a messiah. Always willing to help- but he was no pacifist. He was willing to pick up arms to prove his point, if needed. Without knowing, Phantom no longer views him as a tool- but a toy, in the same way as he views his crew.

Pride was all he saw when he laid eyes on Mercedes. Pride for her country, pride for her cause, pride for herself. Clad in whites and golds, she dances around in combat, piercing every enemy in sight, without fail. Her actions were objective- if it does not prick at her sense of pride and justice, one would not see her do anything, first. Only once their esteemed leader spoke his approval, then does she. In time she would learn, however. That even pride, could be broken.

Simple. That was his first thought of Aran. A follower, not a leader. Willing to give his all to a cause he supports, not caring about what he gets in return. Enveloped in a red fur cloak, which hid his attire of chainmail and cloth, Justice and confidence reeks from all pores of his skin. Truly, someone to be afraid of, if he could not be converted, to the Black Mage's way of thinking.

The next magician that joined Freud's group had him bristling. Bright searing light, yet filled with arrogance. Luminous was his name. His robes were as bright and white as newly fallen snow- but he was a false light. Light was unfeeling, not arrogant! Although.. He could not help but notice that Luminous's aura felt almost like his siblings' Master..

EunWol was a mystery. He was a pirate, yet not a pirate. The man had long sable hair, while his garments were odd- almost oriental- like that of Mu Lung. All that Phantom could gather on him without turning to other, darker and highly illegal, means, was that he's a painter. Only Freud knows why he recruited EunWol- and he isn't sharing.

_However- bit by bit- he was starting to care for them- without his knowledge._

* * *

His first meeting with Aria happened in her bedroom where he was almost caught in her trap when he was trying to steal the Skaia. He was too quick for her, however, for he had ducked before he was ensnared by the protections. In their first meeting, nothing but a simple glance was exchanged.

Their second meeting was in the courtyard. She had chosen to take the Skaia out for a walk and he, had chosed to take the chance to grab the Skaia and go. Yet it failed, for she saw through his disguise and called for the guards, when he made a move to steal the jewel. In their second meeting, words were exchanged along with a glance or two.

The third meeting occurred in a ball. She was clad in shimmering silks of whites and golds, looking as angelic one could be. He himself was clothed in midnight blues and black, with a raven's mask adorning his face. Before he could steal the Skaia, a young upstart tried- through the use of fear and power. That would not do- the Skaia was his to steal! In their third meeting, he protected her and her heart started to swell.

Their fourth meeting was on a balcony. She teased and taunted him, and that would not do. The Puppeteer controls the puppet- not the other way round! However, it revealed an interesting bit of information- she wanted a peaceful treaty to end the war. Flashing a smile that belied none of his traitorous plots, he left with her adoring eyes on his back.

Their fifth meeting was on the same balcony they had met before. This time, she forgoes the foreplay of warm sarcasm and spoke of how the enemy had invited her to a peace conference. When her eyes started to dim, he took the reins of the conversation- a card, forming a rose, and pretty flowery words- to keep her mind off that matter. Once again, he left with her loving gaze, only this time, this time...  
She would be a good toy to cherish and play with, he thought.

Their sixth meeting was him running to the pavilion, where she laid dead, on the divine bird's wings.

_"Phantom.. They were.. Too powerful..."_

They? His siblings? His siblings took the one that was going to be his toy away from him? He should be angry, but yet, his true(?) goal was finally Skaia, his goal(?) was finally given to him, after all these tête-à-tête that he had with the dead empress. So why?

_Why did he feel sorrow?_

* * *

The time has come.

Freud had prepared the seals.  
Mercedes had her bowguns strings drawn taught.  
Maha had been sharpened, Aran had many elixirs stocked.  
EunWol had his weapon sharpened, ready to protect Freud.  
Luminous was late. But he caught up in time.

With a tight smile, he passed the baton to Luminous, quickly went in and then-

**_"Good evening, Lotus. Or should I say, little brother?"_ **  
**_"Big brother!"_**


	3. Fin?

**For Eykiel, for the memory of her, made me pick up my pen, again.**

* * *

His little brother was gaping. Not a pretty look, but he won't beguile him for that. It wasn't everyday that a seems-to-be-dead relative pops out of somewhere with a live body, after all.

Teasingly, he called out.

_"Is it truly such a shock to see me, Little Brother? Or has your senses dulled so much, that you can no longer feel the link we have with each other? Pathetic."_

_"Brother, I- I-"_

Phantom smiled. It wasn't everyday that Lotus was stunned speechless, after all. Unperturbed, he allowed him to gather himself, in hopes for a performance. He wasn't disappointed.

_"Brother- if you're here- you're going to join us, right? It would be like the old times again!"_

His smile widened and his lips parted as he replied softly. _"Silly little brother. What do you think?"_

Before the last word even fell out of his lips, he vanished.

The dripping of blood could be heard.

The agony and betrayal on Lotus was amusing. 

**_"W-Why..?"_**

Even now, his smile had not faded at all. On the contrary, it seemed to grow brighter. 

**_"You know why. You betrayed me first. "_**

Having said that, Phantom left for the Black Mage.


	4. -ALTERNATE- End

_**The Cycle broke. **_

* * *

The illusion shattered.

It was good to know that he can still shock Lotus, Phantom noted. Smiling, he held out a hand and said;

_"Touch what is mine, and there won't be a next time. Now, shall we go rescue your Master?"_

The wide eyes and launch of Lotus's body was all the confirmation he needed. Letting out a laugh, Phantom pulled his sibling towards the chamber where the Black Mage stood.

* * *

It was all a lie.

Aran was dead and Mercedes was blinded. Luminous had been bound and captured by the Black Mage. EunWol was missing, by falling into one of Arkarium's portal, during combat. And Phantom...

_**Phantom had betrayed them all.**_

* * *

**_"Why?!"_**

Poor Freud. Tears were gathering at the corners of his eyes. How sad. How delectable. Phantom could not help but smile as he parroted back-_ "_Why?"

"You know what I mean!"

"Poor little dragonmaster," Phantom could not help but coo. With every step he took towards the despairing dragon master, blood receded from his clothes into his scarf, turning the azure blue into a bloody red. White silk darkened into black, patches by patches, as though as huge drops of ink landed on them.

As he knelt down in front of Freud, Phantom scooped the motionless body into a hug, and continued. "At first, it was for my siblings, you know; Lotus and Orchid? Then slowly, it evolved."

While holding Freud close to his body, Phantom carried on, with his dark, poisonous words. "I did not plan on getting attached to the Heroes- or perhaps, just you. The rest are meaningless. You are the perfect person to replace Aria, after all. "

Freud's eyes widened in shock and tears started dripping. Phantom could tell that mentally, he was breaking Freud- and he cared not a single bit. For as long as Freud lives, who cares if he's sane?

Unperturbed, Phantom continued. "It took some planning, but it worked. My siblings would confront Mercedes and Luminous. Aran, weakened by the enemy. EunWol, denied entrance by Arkarium. All these plans, just to have you in my arms. "

With every word spoken, he could feel Freud's mind breaking down and being manipulated into what Phantom wanted, through the usage of his own, unique, magic. In despair, the brunette let out a broken gasp.

_**"No..."**_

Phantom smiled.

**_"You're mine. "_**


End file.
